Comments for SUBSTANTIAL Disruption http://miketully.net/blog School & Workplace Bullying in the Era of the CyberWorld Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:10:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on School District bans teachers from using Facebook to communicate with students by kd152505 http://miketully.net/blog/2009/02/26/school-district-bans-teachers-from-using-facebook-to-communicate-with-students/comment-page-1/#comment-23 kd152505 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:10:00 +0000 http://miketully.net/blog/?p=95#comment-23 If a teacher cannot be trusted to act responsibly then fire the teacher, but do not destroy a wonderful form of communication for all those who use it in a positive manner. I have a problem with this ruling for several reasons. - My children attend school in the same district within which I teach. Our family uses Facebook extensively to keep in touch. This takes away my rights as a person outside of the school and as a parent to keep track of what my child is doing online (the household rule is - yes you can join, but only if you friend me so I can keep track of who you are talking to and what you are saying). - "Good teachers" get to know their students personally. What better way than by being a part of their daily lives. In the "old days" teachers attended school events to support and get to know their students. For more and more students, Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking tools are students' after school activities. - We are ignoring the potential good that can be done. When a teen ran away from home - never returning after school on a Friday - her grandparents contacted me Monday - desperate because the police had not been able to find her, and her friends claimed they knew nothing. I was able to log into Facebook, pull up her profile and read through her wall. I had her home within 45 minutes. We cannot let fear lead our lives. By making broad, sweeping generalizations we are putting into place a hidden curriculum that encourages others to censor, promote stereotypes, and see the worst in others. Is this truly the message we as educators want to send? If a teacher cannot be trusted to act responsibly then fire the teacher, but do not destroy a wonderful form of communication for all those who use it in a positive manner. I have a problem with this ruling for several reasons.

– My children attend school in the same district within which I teach. Our family uses Facebook extensively to keep in touch. This takes away my rights as a person outside of the school and as a parent to keep track of what my child is doing online (the household rule is – yes you can join, but only if you friend me so I can keep track of who you are talking to and what you are saying).

– “Good teachers” get to know their students personally. What better way than by being a part of their daily lives. In the “old days” teachers attended school events to support and get to know their students. For more and more students, Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking tools are students’ after school activities.

– We are ignoring the potential good that can be done. When a teen ran away from home – never returning after school on a Friday – her grandparents contacted me Monday – desperate because the police had not been able to find her, and her friends claimed they knew nothing. I was able to log into Facebook, pull up her profile and read through her wall. I had her home within 45 minutes.

We cannot let fear lead our lives. By making broad, sweeping generalizations we are putting into place a hidden curriculum that encourages others to censor, promote stereotypes, and see the worst in others. Is this truly the message we as educators want to send?

]]> Comment on 7th Circuit Cuts Off Challenge to Chicago Cell Phone Ban by Susan http://miketully.net/blog/2009/08/17/7th-circuit-cuts-off-challenge-to-chicago-cell-phone-ban/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Susan Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:31:55 +0000 http://miketully.net/blog/?p=402#comment-22 I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often. Susan http://carusbcharger.com I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Susan

http://carusbcharger.com

]]> Comment on Family of Ga. boy plans lawsuit by kidinimike http://miketully.net/blog/2009/05/10/family-of-ga-boy-plans-lawsuit/comment-page-1/#comment-20 kidinimike Sat, 16 May 2009 03:43:30 +0000 http://miketully.net/blog/?p=344#comment-20 This is my first post I knoow I have something very important to say to all that are interested in reducing bulling ,child victimization and most forms of child abuse. First my heartfelt condolances to the family of this child that killed himself. Fear management techniques can be one answer to help reduce bullying. The idea to teach children to stop drop and roll or look both ways before crossing the street and learning how to swim are prime examples of fear management techiniques. I have developed an educational Bully prevention program for the early years of 3 to 8 that works called -Kidini a safe way home www.kidini.com 8 stories - with 8 lyrical lessons songs - by 8 friendly characters This is my first post
I knoow I have something very important to say to all that are interested in reducing bulling ,child victimization and most forms of child abuse.
First my heartfelt condolances to the family of this child that killed himself.
Fear management techniques can be one answer to help reduce bullying.
The idea to teach children to stop drop and roll or look both ways before crossing the street and learning how to swim are prime examples of fear management techiniques.
I have developed an educational Bully prevention program for the early years of 3 to 8 that works called -Kidini a safe way home http://www.kidini.com
8 stories – with 8 lyrical lessons songs – by 8 friendly characters

]]> Comment on School District bans teachers from using Facebook to communicate with students by Justin@cyberbullying.us http://miketully.net/blog/2009/02/26/school-district-bans-teachers-from-using-facebook-to-communicate-with-students/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Justin@cyberbullying.us Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:21:27 +0000 http://miketully.net/blog/?p=95#comment-2 I'm not convinced that this is an appropriate response. While I recognize the inherent dangers associated with teachers friending or communicating with their students via social networking web sites, my opinion is that the benefits outweigh the potential risks, especially when both parties use the sites responsibly. I posted my thoughts about this on our cyberbullying blog (http://cyberbullying.us/blog/teachers-prohibited-from-using-facebook-to-communicate-with-students.html). I’m not convinced that this is an appropriate response. While I recognize the inherent dangers associated with teachers friending or communicating with their students via social networking web sites, my opinion is that the benefits outweigh the potential risks, especially when both parties use the sites responsibly. I posted my thoughts about this on our cyberbullying blog (http://cyberbullying.us/blog/t.....dents.html).

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